Weblog

2020-08-05 - New Web Site (1 paragraphs)
This will be the final entry in this blog. I've updated this site to a new platform (Drupal) and may post there occasionally. P.S. the RSS feed has been redirected to the new site, so your reader should switch over automatically.
2021-01-05 - Last year's Detroit vacation (2 paragraphs, 17 photos)
Exactly a year ago, Alexis and I returned from a trip to Detroit. We took the the train to Windsor (Ontario), then went under the Detroit River by tunnel and spent about ten magical days in the city before a day and a half Toronto. I'm not sure why I never posted anything about the trip. Maybe it's because I wasn't happy with the photography, all taken using my cell phone's camera, or that there was no way the pictures or text could capture the magic of what was quite possibly my favorite trip ever. I'll mention some memories that come to mind before the pics.
- A token view from the train while crossing the rockies
- The Hiedelberg Project
- The Hiedelberg Project
- Demolishing the beautiful Lafayette Building. The trial of the "underwear bomber" was taking place in one of the buildings on the right side of the street.
- View towards downtown over Belle Isle from the former Casino
- View of downtown Detroit and Windsor over the Detroit River, from Belle Isle
- Alexis in front of the old stables at Belle Isle
- The Belle Isle conservatory building
- One of the many beautiful and well maintained mansions on Atkinson Ave north of New Center
- Michigan Central Station at sunset
- Suddenly we're in Paris. Actually this is at the Toledo Museum of Art, too bad one can't walk down the stairs into the Paris Metro.
- Alexis on the tire swing at the Toledo Museum of Art
- Feeding goats. The tall building in the background is one of Detroit's ugly new casinos; it's just a few blocks away.
- Alexis with the goats
- One of many lovely houses (in various states of upkeep/decay) in the Woodbridge area west of the Cultural District.
- One of the mosaics in the Fisher Building. The interior is covered in this stuff.
- Lamp in the Fisher Building
2020-09-21 - Back from central coast kayak trip (1 paragraphs, 12 photos)
I got home from my trip north on Saturday night, a day that involved 11 hours on ferries plus 5 hours in a car. All in all a great trip, even if the weather was rainier and windier than I had hoped it might be (but to be expected in September). I paddled a total of 225 km, with my longest day covering 42 km; encountered humpback whales, porpoises, sea otters and sandhill cranes; paddled in 4 meter swell, albeit only for about ten minutes before I chickened out; and saw rugged open Pacific coastline and mountain-backed ghost towns. Here are some impressions:
- View from Kynumpt Harbour
- Sunset at Kynumpt Harbour
- Macmullen Group islands
- Macmullen Group island
- Macmullen Group island
- Sagar Lake beach
- Rocky outcropping
- Abandoned cottage at Wallace Bay
- Lobby of abandoned building in Ocean Falls
- Dam at Ocean Falls
- Abandoned house in Ocean Falls
- Scrap heap and the abandoned Co-op supermarket in Ocean Falls
2020-09-04 - Two week central coast kayak tour (1 paragraphs)
I'm heading out for a two week paddle in B.C.'s central coast region. I'll be catching the ferry from Port Hardy to Bella Bella on Saturday evening, and returning on the 18th. My progress will be tracked this map (updated on Sep 20 with final route):
2020-07-20 - Kayaking: Swartz Bay - San Juan Island - Mayne (11 paragraphs)
For a while now, I've wanted to paddle from Swartz Bay back home to Mayne. I've also wanted to check out some of the San Juan islands. Last weekend, I figured I'd combine the two. To make it in the 2½ days available, timing was paramount because I had to make a number of crossings at slack tide to avoid strong currents. My route was also limited due the few ports of entry available to touch land after crossing the international border. Unfortunately, that meant I didn't have very much time to explore the various islands I visited. Here's an interactive map of my route:
2020-07-07 - Manny's Tables: free Current Atlas chart lookup tables (1 paragraphs)
Having been frustrated in my efforts to find Murray's Tables in stock at any retailers, I finally decided to roll my own since the calculations are actually quite simple. Using the output of xtide and a few Python scripts I wrote on this rainy morning, I've produced and posted my own chart lookup tables for the Canadian Hydrographic Service's Current Atlas: Juan de Fuca Strait to Strait of Georgia. I've also posted the scripts I used to generate them, in case anyone finds them useful. Enjoy, kayakers!
2020-07-06 - Kayaking Prevost, Active Pass, and northwest Mayne (9 paragraphs)
I've been getting fairly serious about kayaking lately. I first started paddling on Parker Island, since there were kayaks available to use, but didn't really know what I was doing and mostly limited myself to the immediate area of Parker Island. Since moving to Mayne I'd been missing it, so after taking a friend's boat out a couple of times and loving it I picked up a used Delta 15.5 in February. I've also taken a few courses to build my skills and feel comfortable paddling in more the more challenging conditions around Mayne Island.
2020-06-22 - Pictures of Tumbo and Cabbage Islands (3 photos)
- Looking toward Pine Islet from my campsite on Cabbage Island
- Garry oak meadow at Tumbo Pt
- Looking over the tombolo
2020-12-14 - Mayne Island in the snow (6 photos)
- Old barn
- Rosehips
- Alexis
- Corner of old barn
- Sheep
- Willow
2020-12-03 (1 photos)
- Seals at Helen Point
2020-12-01 (1 photos)
- Dusk on the Fraser River, from the Alex Fraser bridge
2020-05-10 - Some pictures Alexis took of the house and yard (10 photos)
- Parlour
- Living Room
- Kitchen
- Shed from bedroom balcony
- Garden Path
- Tulips
- Zeke under the maple tree
- Hanging Lights
- Yellow Chair on Deck
- Mystery Bush Growing Up Wall
2020-03-30 - Stalking wild goats on Saturna Island (6 photos)
- Goat trail
- Goat trail and Taylor Pt
- Group of wild goats
- Wild goat
- Wild goats
- Mt. Baker
2020-02-15 - Picture of rusted old truck on Wallace Island (1 photos)
- Rusted old truck on Wallace Island
2020-02-13 - Picture of dark sky over Pender Island (1 photos)
- Dark sky over Pender Island
2020-02-11 - Picture of our horses (1 photos)
- Joe and Sarge
2020-11-11 - Finally, some pictures of our new place (8 photos)
- Driveway (facing toward house)
- Cob cottage, where are currently living (side view)
- Cob cottage, where are currently living (front view)
- The house, where we will be moving in January (back view)
- Back garden
- View of Punch's valley from the back yard
- Pond
- Driveway (facing away from house)
2020-09-28 - We're Mayniacs (4 paragraphs)
Incase you haven't heard, Alexis and I are buying a place on Mayne Island. It's a 3.7-acre property with an apple orchard, various other fruit trees, a house, and a cob cottage on it. We just finished moving our stuff over last night, and are currently living in the cottage while the current owner of the property awaits her visa for immigration to England. I'll post some pictures of the property soon, but in the meantime you can check out some pictures of the cottage we're living in: see the first set of images on this link.
2020-06-02 - Mt Albert Edward (3 photos)
- Heading up the Mt Albert Edward ridge
- View from Mt Albert Edward ridge
- View from Mt Albert Edward ridge
2020-05-26 - Eagles (2 photos)
- Eagle on snow-covered whale rock in the morning
- Eagle on tree branch
2020-03-01 - ZBS - Moon over Morocco (2 paragraphs)
If you're at all interested in audio drama, ZBS is podcasting Moon Over Morocco, the second of the Jack Flanders series, in its original 50 12-minute episodes. The podcast started today, and only the past three days' episodes will be available, so don't delay. I haven't actually heard any of the Jack Flanders series before, but Alexis recommends it, and ZBS's Ruby series is excellent, so I'm very much looking forward to listening to this podcast.
2020-11-24 (1 photos)
- Black walnut tree at the Acken farm
2020-11-23 (3 photos)
- Pool at Forbidden Plateau
- Mt Albert Edward Ridge
- Mt Albert Edward Ridge
2020-11-10 - For Susan (3 photos)
- Ron H.
- Ron's House
- One of the many paths scary paths to Ron's house
2020-09-21 (1 photos)
- Mt. Albert Edward seen from the Forbidden Plateau
2020-09-20 (1 photos)
- Alexis, Zeke, Li'l Butt, and I atop Mt. Albert Edward
2020-07-29 (1 photos)
- Another sunset
2020-07-28 (1 photos)
- Martin Mars water bomber taking off after reloading in Trincomali Channel
2020-07-25 (1 photos)
- California Road Trip: Stellar Sea Lion Cave
2020-07-24 (1 photos)
- California Road Trip: Us at Crater Lake
2020-07-23 (1 photos)
- California Road Trip: Alexis emerges from a lava tube
2020-06-07 (1 photos)
- Bald Eagle seen from the front lawn
2020-06-06 (1 photos)
- Meadowmist Farm (where Alexis farmsits sometimes), from Mt. Parke
2020-05-28 (1 photos)
- Arbutus at Mt. Parke ridge
2020-05-22 (1 photos)
- Snag at Pebble Beach
2020-03-26 (1 photos)
- Parallel Driftwood at Bear Beach
2020-03-24 (1 photos)
- Sunset light filtering through forest
2020-03-23 (1 photos)
- Bear Beach
2020-03-21 (1 photos)
- Waterfall at Bear Beach
2020-03-20 (1 photos)
- Rock-on-a-Pillar at Bear Beach
2020-03-13 (1 photos)
- Leafy Apparition
2020-03-09 (1 photos)
- Tafone
2020-03-08 (1 photos)
- Montague Harbour
2020-03-07 (1 photos)
- Dionisio Pt.
2020-02-15 (1 photos)
- The owner's house on Parker Island, taken from Mt. Sutil
2020-02-14 (1 photos)
- Parker Island, where I live, from Mt. Sutil
2020-02-12 (1 photos)
- Mt. Baker
2020-02-10 (1 photos)
- Arbutus
2020-02-09 (1 paragraphs, 1 photos)
These aerial photos of Mexico City that have been going around the 'net are worth taking a look at. It's a beautiful city that I've enjoyed spending days wandering around. It's fun to see some places I recognize from the air (not to mention some parts where I wouldn't feel at all safe).
- Cormorant stretching its wings at the Village Bay ferry dock
2020-02-08 (1 photos)
- Derelict Machinery on Mount Sutil
2020-02-01 (1 photos)
- Portland Island with Olympic Mountains
2020-01-31 (1 photos)
- Lighted Arbutus Branch
2020-01-27 (2 photos)
- Playing with Fire
- Playing with Fire
2020-01-26 (2 photos)
- Playing with Fire
- Playing with Fire
2021-01-20 (1 photos)
- Crumbling paved section of Brush Creek
2021-01-16 - Siblings-in-law in Kansas City (3 photos)
- Elizabeth, Alexis, and Nathaniel, and a Henry Moore in front of the Nelson Atkins museum
- Alexis pushes Nathaniel into a fountain
- Nathaniel and Rachel
2021-01-15 (3 photos)
- Mayne and North Pender Islands from Collinson Pt, Galiano
- Prevost Pass
- Saltspring Sunset
2020-12-12 (1 photos)
- Recreational boats at Savary Island, Aug 2005
2020-12-11 (1 photos)
- Tree down over trail on a misty morning, Parker Island
2020-12-10 (1 photos)
- Phillmore Point on a golden morning
2020-11-24 (1 photos)
- Looking into Strathcona Park from a logging road near Gold River, BC (Aug 2005)
2020-11-23 (1 photos)
- View toward Mayne Island from Saturna
2020-11-17 (2 paragraphs, 1 photos)
Permanent residence for Alexis, a new contract, and clearing up a backlog of pictures.
2020-10-20 (1 photos)
- View toward Prevost Island on a misty morning, Parker Island BC
2020-10-17 (1 photos)
- Power lines on a misty morning, Parker Island
2020-10-03 (1 photos)
- Kunlin Lake, near Gold River BC
2020-09-23 (1 photos)
- Waterfall, near Kunlin Lake BC, Aug 2005
2020-09-20 (1 photos)
- Birch trees, near Kunlin Lake BC
2020-09-17 - UPS gets stuck in a loop (1 paragraphs)
Apparently UPS is a bit confused about the location of Parker Island. A package was sent to me recently, and I guess they figured I'm somewhere between Richmond and Nanaimo, since they sent a package back and forth three times between those locations. The sender did get their money back. Oh, and before you ask, no, UPS does not actually deliver to Parker Island (year-round population: 6, reachable only by private boat). I had to pick up the package on Galiano Island. Here's the relevant portion of the tracking log:
2020-09-15 (1 photos)
- Sand Dunes, Savary Island BC
2020-09-14 (1 photos)
- Sailboats, Desolation Sound BC
2020-09-12 (1 photos)
- Beach and Desolation Sound, Savary Island BC
2020-09-09 (1 photos)
- Bent tree and driftwood bike rack, Savary Island BC
2020-09-08 (2 photos)
- “The Hulks,” a floating breakwater made of ten ships, Powell River BC
- One of “The Hulks,” Powell River BC
2020-09-06 (1 photos)
- Powell River pulp mill silhouette at sunset
2020-07-16 (1 photos)
- Big Cedar, Upper Walbran Valley
2020-07-14 - LiveTree (1 paragraphs)
I've released the first alpha of LiveTree, which is DHTML tree (hierarchical list) widget that loads data asynchronously as-needed (using AJAX). It features tight integration with Ruby on Rails, but other web app servers can easily support it as well. Check it out.
2020-07-13 - Fletcher Falls and Flowers (Upper Walbran) (4 photos)
- Flowers
- Falls
- Pool
- Valley
2020-07-12 (1 photos)
- White spider with pink stripe on flower (near Pemberton, B.C.)
2020-07-11 - Bread Boat (1 paragraphs, 1 photos)
This boat, the Atrevida, is moored in Montague Harbour on weekends during the summer and sells baked goods. We've bought their delicious dark rye bread a couple of times now, and today kayaked over for some bread and a snack, and a chat over coffee with the owners. In the past, the boat has served as a five-car, forty-passenger ferry for Texada Island and Gabriola Island. It has since been converted into a beautiful living (and baking) space. For more information about its history, see this article .
- The Atrevida
2020-06-21 (1 photos)
- Woman feeding pigs along the Lochside trail in Saanich
2020-06-20 (3 photos)
- Hanging out on a little beach on one of the Hawkins Islets
- Kayaking between two of the Hawkins Islets
- Watching a ferry go by
2020-06-10 (1 photos)
- View of Mayne Island from Galiano Mountain
2020-06-07 - Walbran Valley pictures (1 paragraphs, 3 photos)
We spent three nights at the Walbran Bridge Camp. Lots of logging has been going on in the area since the last time I visited. I didn't take very many pictures, but I took a bunch last time I visited if your interested. It's awfully difficult to convey the scale of some of the trees there and their unique personalities in pictures, and none of my attempts are worth posting.
- Broken pottery by Emerald Pool camp
- Alexis climbs big cedar
- Alexis climbs big cedar
2020-06-02 - Some pictures of Parker Island (3 photos)
- Daisies and power lines (these lines run across Parker Island and then go under-sea to provide power to other gulf islands and backup power for Vancouver Island)
- Shady spot in swamp
- Foxglove and the road that runs from one end of Parker Island to the other
2020-06-01 - Some pictures of Paradise Meadows/Forbidden Plateau (1 paragraphs, 7 photos)
Alexis and I went up to Strathcona Park to do some hiking. We started at the paradise meadows trailhead (by Mt Washington) and wanted to get to Mt Albert Edward, but there was too much snow and after a couple of hours of wandering around trying to find the trail, decided to head back and camp at Lake Helen Mackenzie. It was a lovely hike, even if we didn't get to our destination, and Zeke had a lot of fun in the snow. Afterwards, we headed over to Quadra Island (which had a different feel compared to the southern Gulf Islands) to visit a couple of folks from the cob workshop (no pics of Quadra Island, though I wish I had taken a picture of a great hex/octagonal house with a tower we drove by). Today we're back on Parker to get some caretaking work done, and tomorrow we head up to the Walbran for a few days.
- Stream through Paradise Meadows
- The snow begins, with Mt. Albert Edward in the background
- View over the Forbidden Plateau towards the east
- Interesting tree bark
- Old Bridge near Lake Helen Mackenzie
- This bird (and two of its friends/enemies) enjoyed eating our trail mix at the campsite.
- Alexis drinks from a stream
2020-05-26 (1 photos)
- The Caretaker Cottage
2020-04-08 - Site Downtime (3 paragraphs)
This site has been down for a week or so. It was hosted on a friend's computer that was on a cable modem connection and was hacked. Thanks to his diligence, everything was backed and nothing has been lost. I've now moved this site over to a professional host, which has a more reliable and faster Internet connection.
2020-03-27 (1 photos)
- Freighter coming through Trincomali Channel (taken from Peile Point on Prevost Island)
2020-03-24 (1 photos)
- Alexis and Zeke looking at sea life
2020-03-13 (2 photos)
- Faerie Door, Mt. Erskine, Salt Spring Island
- Faerie's View, Mt. Erskine, Salt Spring Island
2020-03-03 - Updates (8 paragraphs)
It's been a while since I've posted anything here (and even longer since I've posted any text), so I guess it's time for a brief update.
2021-01-10 (2 photos)
- Snowy bench on on a sunny day
- Zeke and slanted tree in the snow
2021-01-09 (2 photos)
- Our cottage in the snow
- Arbutus covered with snow
2020-11-17 (1 photos)
- Sunset
2020-11-15 (1 photos)
- Wooden bench overlooking Trincomali Channel
2020-11-02 (1 photos)
- The property we are care-taking for
2020-10-15 - Spending the winter on a small island (8 paragraphs)
We're going to be spending until June on Parker Island, which is a 400-acre island near Galiano Island (Update: See location on map). Cass hooked us up as caretakers of a beautiful 19-acre property for an American doctor. We met with Ian last Sunday and started moving in today. He is only around on the weekends, somewhat infrequently during the winter, so we get lots of privacy.
2020-09-23 - Wedding Pictures (4 paragraphs)
The wedding was a great success. Thanks so much for everybody who could come and make it such a memorable experience. Special thanks to Louise for giving us the use of the yurt and for her accordion playing, to Bonnie for the lamb roast and lovely wine, and to Avery for baking the wedding cake (which we're still working on finishing!).
2020-09-07 - Wedding details (1 paragraphs)
The wedding is on the afternoon of Saturday September 18. Details are at wedding.epiphyte.ca.
2020-07-03 - Engaged (1 paragraphs)
Thought folks might be interested to know that Alexis and I got engaged yesterday! By coincidence (we realized this afterward) this was our 6 month anniversary. Our plan (such as it is, with two people who are not at all into planning things) is to move to Vancouver Island, which involves much paperwork so she can immigrate to Canada. The idea is to have our wedding sometime in September.
2020-03-22 - Mexico: Back in Victoria (7 paragraphs, 123 images)
Edward's wedding, Puebla, Lucha Libre, coming home.
2020-03-13 - Mexico: The wedding guests arrive in Mexico (4 paragraphs, 1 images)
Meeting Ryan, Alex, Matt, Mei, and Steve at the airport, wandering around Mexico City, and driving around Puebla/Cholula/Tonantzintla.
2020-03-12 - Mexico: Busses, boats, and airports (7 paragraphs, 38 images)
Making my way by busses and ferries from the ranch to Mexico City.
2020-03-05 - Cob, love, and new directions (33 paragraphs, 68 images)
Building a cob house, life on a Mexican ranch, outings on the Baja Peninsula, finding a soul-mate, and a different direction for my life.
2020-01-31 - Going to Mexico, again (6 paragraphs, 5 images)
I'm heading to Mexico for 6 weeks to attend a cob building workshop and Ed and Natacha's wedding. Also, some pictures of the cat that Emmy and I adopted from the SPCA a few days ago.
2021-01-09 - Violation Ticket (1 paragraphs)
I knew it had to happen some day, since I've been riding without a helmet for years now. I was starting to think the law wasn't enforced at all. I wonder if I should pay it. Does the fact that I never signed the ticket make any difference?
2020-09-27 - E-mail notification and more (7 paragraphs)
Automatic e-mail notification of weblog updates has been added to the site. I also discuss RSS, post some links to Alex and Lauren's crap art, and talk about the death of Ken Kifer, my legs, Shabu Shabu, and "Lost in Translation".
2020-09-11 - New Phone Number, New Job (4 paragraphs)
I'm now back living in Victoria, although I don't actually have a place yet and am sleeping on friends' couches until I decide where I want to live. I'm working for Blue Shift at their new Victoria office, doing technical support for artists and programming.
2020-09-05 - Portland Cycle Tour: Tenino > Port Angeles (4 paragraphs, 4 images)
The frequent, loud trains during the night kept me up for a while, but I was sufficiently rested in the morning and got going at 7. I continued north along old hwy 99 to Olympia, where I made a short detour to see the state capitol. I then got onto US 101. I figured that I might be able to make it all the way to Port Angeles that day, and when I saw the sign that said 112 miles to PA (I had cycled about 20 miles at that point) I decided I would go for it and really started pushing myself. US 101 was a freeway until Shelton (where I saw the first Wal*Mart of the whole trip, amazingly) and then became smaller as it followed closely along the Hood Canal.
2020-09-04 - Portland Cycle Tour: Woodland > Tenino (5 paragraphs, 1 images)
Last night I didn't sleep too well due to a strong wind, and later a pickup truck pulled up just above me and a bunch of guys stood around talking and drinking beer for at least an hour without noticing me. After they had gone, it started to lightly rain, so I had to get up and set up my bivy and waterproof everything, which took me a long time due to the wind. Once I was finally comfortably in the bivy, shielded from wind and rain, I fell into deep sleep instantly.
2020-09-03 - Portland Cycle Tour: Portland > Woodland (6 paragraphs, 5 images)
I had decided yesterday that I would start on my way to Seattle today, even though I didn't really want to leave the wonderful city of Portland. I took my time getting ready to leave in the morning, and by the time I got my laundry done and all my stuff packed up, it was noon. Before actually leaving the city, I checked out a couple of last things I wanted to see, such as a cob memorial built for a cyclist who was hit by a truck that I read about in the Stormwater Cycling pamphlet, which was quite touching.
2020-09-02 - Portland Cycle Tour: Portland (4 paragraphs, 11 images)
Last night Greg, the night manager at the hostel, let me borrow a cycling map of the Columbia River Gorge to the east of Portland, so today I cycled a part of it. I put my bike on Portland's light rail system, known as MAX (made me glad I chose to ride the wedgie, despite the sore ass, arms, and neck) to Gresham, an outlying suburb. From there I cycled to Troutdale and took the Historic Columbia River Highway to Multnomah Falls, along the way stopping for some breathtaking views, beautiful forest, and seeing some other nice waterfalls, in addition to enjoying for once being on a quiet, meandering road.
2020-09-01 - Portland Cycle Tour: Portland (4 paragraphs, 22 images)
After a lazy morning, I spent the day exploring Portland. I cycled into town, to Powell's, the famous book store, and picked up their downtown walking map (free), and followed the route for a couple of hours. I also bought the city's bicycle map, which shows all the bike routes and preferred roads for cyclists in the city, including information about amount of traffic, bike lanes, etc. Using that map, the whole city makes much more sense. I then cycled to Washington Park, although I ended up taking the freeway there instead of the scenic route I would have preferred. Washington Park didn't end up being all that interesting to me, though if I had more time I would have liked to explore the huge arboreum. It did provide some nice views of the city.
2020-08-31 - Portland Cycle Tour: Svensen > Portland (8 paragraphs, 6 images)
The hay barn was a great place to sleep. The hay made a very comfortable bed, certainly more comfortable than a thermarest. There were some animals (probably rats) in the ceiling that were making some noise, especially at dawn and dusk, but otherwise no problems.
2020-08-30 - Portland Cycle Tour: North Cove > Svensen (6 paragraphs, 18 images)
I got another early start, leaving around 6:15am and continuing east along SR 105. I stopped for a second breakfast in Raymond, which is a very nice logging town that is packed full of slightly cheesy but nice metal sculptures of wildlife and people. The restaurant actually had an Atkins Diet menu, which I thought was interesting. I also picked up some hex wrenches at the hardware store so I could adjust the height of my handlebars. From Raymond I took US 101 south.
2020-08-29 - Portland Cycle Tour: Quinault Lake > North Cove (5 paragraphs, 14 images)
I got up dawn and left without breakfast because I didn't want to risk anyone being around the cemetary. First thing I did was find the Sitka Surprise geocache I had intended to find yesterday, which was very easy, and I guess I can now say I've seen the world's largest Sitka Spruce. Incidentally, there is a mountain called "Colonel Bob" in the Quinault area. I like that name.
2020-08-28 - Portland Cycle Tour: Forks > Quinault Lake (6 paragraphs, 20 images)
I left the hostel around 9:15 and continued south along US 101. I soon found the Ruby's Rest geocache at Ruby Beach. Somewhere along the way I lost one of my sandals, which I had strapped to the side of my panniers. It's too bad, because I do attach some sentiment to those sandals which have been with me since before my trip to India. Objectively, it's not that big a deal, since they're getting close to the end of their life anyway. Later in the day, I lost the other sandal.
2020-08-27 - Portland Cycle Tour: Fairholm > Forks (4 paragraphs, 3 images)
I was on the road at around 8, continuing west then south along US 101, and soon went by the Sol Duc Stash geocache, which I found easily. Nearby was a free campground setup by Rayonier, a Forks based logging company. It surprised me to see that, because unlike B.C., I'm not aware of any requirement for forestry companies to build campsites. People I asked said that some companies do it, I guess for goodwill from the community.
2020-08-26 - Portland Cycle Tour: Olympic Hot Springs > Fairholm (4 paragraphs, 16 images)
I got up around 7 and went to the hot springs again, this time exploring the trail further. I think I reached the last pool, which is certainly one of the most beautiful, largest, and deepest. The bottom of the pool was covered in carpets, and someone had planted flowers nearby. I think I spent altogether an hour and a half there. After breakfast, I finally was on my way at 11 and returned to US 101, continuing west.
2020-08-25 - Portland Cycle Tour: Port Angeles > Olympic Hot Springs (6 paragraphs, 3 images)
I took the 10:30am Coho ferry to Port Angeles, arriving arround noon. US Immigration was no problem, though I wondered what to say when they asked me my occupation. I'm not sure which is worse for them: unemployed or self-employed software engineer. I decided on the latter. Probably the only things worse to say would be drug-dealer or terrorist. There was another touring cyclist who was going to do a one-week trip through Port Townsend and Whidbey Island [the only other touring cyclist I would see for almost a week].
2020-08-25 - Going for a bike ride (6 paragraphs)
I've taken it really easy since I came back from PG, but now it's time to get going. I didn't get onto a bicycle until the day before yesterday, but as soon as I did, I knew I wanted to keep going, so I'm going to do some kind of tour for the next week or two. The current vague plan is to take the ferry to Port Angeles, WA and then head south along the west coast, making many stops along the way for day hikes in Olympic National Park, and make my way to Portland, OR. Depending on how long that takes, I may cycle back via Seattle, or load my bike onto a bus/train home.
2020-08-20 - Back home (7 paragraphs, 8 images)
I'm back home in Victoria a few days early! It turned out that many of the Quebec brushers, including the foremen, had to leave early in order to make it home in time for school, which for many of them starts on August 20. I was in Tom's office to sign my paysheet on the 15th, and he asked what date I was planning to stay until. I mentioned something about the Frenchies leaving early, and he said it'd be fine if I went early as well, but he just had to check it with the head office, which he would call later that day. Unfortunately, a family emergency forced him to leave, which left Ian in charge. Once I got to talking to Ian, it was too late to call the head office, so I would have to work the next day. The next day he also didn't call, but in the morning, about 20 minutes before we would be leaving for work, he told me it should be okay if I go.
2020-08-12 - Babine (7 paragraphs, 10 images)
Babine is sweet! The logging camp here is much nicer than Munro, though not as developed as Ospika. The blocks we're cutting are really nice. The terrain is almost flat and extremely sparse. In addition, we don't need to cut herbacious stuff, so we're mostly running from alder clump to alder clump. We're not applying herbicide here, which means no carrying 3l of herbicide, no problems with herbicide lines, and no blue all over you at the end of the day. The blocks are pretty close to camp and we're still working 8 hours per day, so altogether this is the best brushing I've had all summer. Yesterday we finished a block that had been worked on for about 5 hours the before the break, and then finished two other small blocks in one day. I think we did around 45 hectares, which was unheard of at any of the other contracts. I'm now on Vinlix's crew (Vinlix=Vincent+Felix), so basically I'm back with the old crew, which couldn't make me happier. In every way I'm so glad I got sent to Babine.
2020-08-09 - Blackwater: Fifth and sixth shifts, and a three-day break (6 paragraphs, 10 images)
We got a three-day break for the BC day long weekend. For the first two nights I camped in PG at the same spot as the last break, this time by myself. On Sunday I hitch-hiked to Summit Lake, which is about an hour's drive north of PG. I was intending to go to Bear Lake, which is a bit farther, but the forester who picked me up happened to be meeting some people right at Summit Lake, so that was perfect. The forest service campground was packed full of people and the lake was full of loud boats, so it wasn't exactly peace and quiet, but it was still a nice change. Instead of going back to PG to meet my crew, I hitch-hiked up to Mackenzie on Monday and met them there. Mackenzie is an amazingly bland place (even by North American small city standards), but it's pleasant enough and has a beach just a few minutes walk from the middle of town, which is a big plus.
2020-07-27 - Blackwater: Fourth Shift (6 paragraphs, 6 images)
This shift turned out to be only three days. We never went back to the walk-in block because it is too wet to use herbicide, which makes brushing less effective. We moved onto another block which we finished only a little over budget, and since the only blocks left are the ones we cannot do due to wetness, we get two days off in PG. We should be able to finish up at Blackwater in the next shift, possibly early.
2020-07-23 - Blackwater: Third Shift (4 paragraphs)
This shift we managed to finish a block a day and a half under budget, but were over budget on another block. The block we're on now is really flat and involves a 2km very soggy walk in. When Tom was checking it out a couple of days ago he was attacked by a black bear that hit him from the side before he saw it.
2020-07-18 - Blackwater: Second Shift (10 paragraphs, 5 images)
We were supposed to be working 6-on, 1-off, 5-on, 2-off (in PG) due to Slocan closing the camp every second weekend, but now it turns out that we're working three shifts of 4-on, 1-off, followed by one shift of 4-on, 3-off (in PG) because Slocan decided to keep the camp open and close it for the BC day long weekend instead. I'm happy with this change, because as far as I'm concerned, 4-on, 1-off is the best schedule. Not only are the shifts shorter, but the number of days actually worked is greater, which means more money.
2020-07-12 - Blackwater: First Shift (14 paragraphs)
We're now working in the area known as Blackwater, which is about 1.5 hours from Mackenzie. The scenery here isn't as stunning as Ospika, but sometimes there are some amazing views over a huge valley.
2020-07-01 - A few days off (7 paragraphs)
It turns out that we did finish the block on the 29th, although we worked after 1pm for an extra hour (it rained a fair bit while we were working and everything was wet, so the actual risk of fire was very small). The next morning, we left for Prince George at 3:30 and finally arrived in town at around 2:30pm (after a detour to Mackenzie to drop off the trailers at a logging camp there). Some of the trucks ran out of gas on the way, and others ended up going to the wrong camp and probably added a couple of hours to the trip, but we had no such problems.
2020-06-28 - First Paycheque (7 paragraphs, 1 images)
I got my first paycheque (direct deposit, actually) today, for a whopping $223.96! This covers the first two weeks I worked. I actually earned $1200.40, but off that come the usual government deductions, camp costs ($401.25), and equipment ($508.35). The cost of the saw and blades is deducted from the first four payqueques (the saw costs $1000, but we can sell it back to Apex for $750 at the end of the season, and we pay around $200 to be supplied with sharp blades for the season). The other equipment: Ear muffs ($27.36), face shield ($13.35), blade pouch ($12.54), large hydration pack (standard MEC model, $102.60), blade wrench ($25.00), hardhat ($7.98), safety glasses ($7.98). If you consider the money I spent on other stuff for the job before I came, I definitely haven't made any money yet.
2020-06-27 - Ospika: Fire Hours (7 paragraphs)
Yesterday we started working fire hours, which is what happens when the fire hazard is high for three consecutive days. We're not allowed to work after 1pm, so we start work extra early. The trucks leave camp at 3:30am and by the time we arrive at the block it's just light enough to work.
2020-06-23 - Ospika: Third and fourth shifts (7 paragraphs)
Things have settled into a routine at this point. Because we're so far over the estimates for finishing the blocks, we're now working 5 days on/1 off, and working an extra half hour every day.
2020-06-12 - Ospika: Second shift (16 paragraphs, 2 images)
The second shift is done. This one went much faster and better than the first. My feet actually hurt more this time around, probably because I am working harder and faster. Last shift my feet would hurt a lot in the evening, but by morning be fine, but now they hurt all the time. It also hurts when I bend two of the fingers on my right hand at more than a 90 degree angle, and I have a rash on my right outer thigh where the saw harness rubs against my leg. My knees hurt a bit in the evening, but are fine by morning. Otherwise, I'm doing well. The last few hours of every day seem to be going especially well, that seems to be when I can forget about my discomfort and totally focus on the work. I'm still eating a lot, and now I'm hungry at breakfast as well, so I must be doing something right.
2020-06-07 - Ospika: First Shift (25 paragraphs)
Today is our first day off. I haven't had any time to write on the previous days because my day is completely full just working and doing the necessities. I'm just going to ramble about whatever comes to mind.
2020-06-02 - First day brushing (12 paragraphs)
I thought we were going to get started early, so I got up at 5 for breakfast. It turns out that we weren't going to meet until 11, so I slept for about an extra hour, then met with Ian and learned how to use the brush saw and got my brushing equiptment (the stuff I missed in the earlier meeting). I spent a while adjusting the equiptment and figuring out what I'm going to wear for the day in the time before the meeting. I decided on my MEC midweight long underwear shirt and pants, and some MEC Rad Pants overtop.
2020-06-01 - Arrived at Ospika Camp (7 paragraphs, 17 images)
I did the whole packing routine a second time, this time aided by more bags. It was lightly raining when our convoy finally left UNBC at around 8:30, with our pickup taking the rear. After a short while driving, we made a stop because Steve's (one of the managers) pickup was wobbling, so he checked the wheel bolts. We continued for a couple of hours up to Windy Point, where we made another stop for Gas. Shortly thereafter, we got onto the logging roads. At first the convoy stuck pretty close, but when it stopped raining the dust became extreme and we separated. Sometimes there was as much as 10km between Tom's pickup (first) and ours (last).
2020-05-31 - Delayed (5 paragraphs, 2 images)
We were all packed up and ready to go at 7:30 this morning, and had started loading the trucks, when Tom (the supervisor) came out and told us that the herbicide lines went missing from one of the trucks, and that we can't start without them. We're delayed until tomorrow. I was really looking forward to getting out there, so I'm a bit disappointed.
2020-05-30 - Forests For The World, Orientation, Radios (3 paragraphs, 7 images)
This morning I got up at 6:30 and went to walk around the trails by the university. It looks like there is quite a system of greenways here. Actually the city seems to have a great deal of green space overall. The trails connect with a park called Forests For the World, which showcases both natural and planted forests, and offers interpretive walks. In the middle is a supposed viewpoint, and the view was probably very nice in 1986 when the park was founded, but now there is nothing to see but trees.
2020-05-29 - Herbicide Test and Fire Suppression Course (5 paragraphs, 3 images)
This morning was our herbicide test. It went well; they seem to have simplified it significantly from what our instructor told us was going to be on the test. I'm sure I passed, and there's a good chance I got a high enough mark for the five year certification (otherwise it's a one year certification). Apex pays a $200 bonus for passing the test, and $300 if I get the five year ticket.
2020-05-28 - Study Day (5 paragraphs)
Today is designated a study day for the herbicide test tomorrow, but I spent much of it in town stocking up on supplies. I was wrong about PG not having a centre; it does have a downtown, though it's bland and I didn't percieve any particular focal point.
2020-05-27 - Herbicide Training (4 paragraphs)
Today we took a herbicide course in order to get "forestry non-broadcast pesticide applicator certification." The instructor basically read from the book and told us which parts would be on the test (which is open book). He did get excited whenever he got into talking about pine beetles, which actually was quite interesting. Unfortunately, we aren't supposed to write in or mark up the books because Apex re-uses them, so finding all the info during the test will be harder than it would be otherwise.
2020-05-26 - Arrived in Prince George (10 paragraphs, 9 images)
First, some administravia. I have re-activated my mobile phone. My new number is +1 250 552 9265. You should be able to reach me directly until the 31st. After that, I will be difficult to reach for a month. I might be able to check my voice mail periodically, but don't count on it. E-mail is a definite no. Snail mail sent to the address in my contact info will reach me, so, it's sad to say, snail-mail will be the fastest, most reliable way to get in touch with me. Also, I may be away until early November, not early October as I originally thought. Now, on with the show...
2020-05-24 - Leaving for Prince George to Brush (7 paragraphs)
Tomorrow (Sun May 25) I will be leaving for Prince George to start my new job (after a week of initial training and certification). I have set everything up to update the site while I'm away, so hopefully I will be able post some pictures. This job is just for the summer, and I should be returning between late August and early October.
2020-05-11 - Tsawwassen to Coquitlam and Back (2 paragraphs, 23 images)
There was more B5 watching at Steve's (got the second season DVDs), so I cycled from home to the ferries and then to Coquitlam and back. Much of the route is along River Rd. in Delta, which is an industrial area. These areas fascinate me because there is so little heavy industry on Vancouver Island that I rarely see it. Same with the bridges and train tracks that are all over the Lower Mainland.
2020-05-07 - The Goose to Sooke Potholes (1 paragraphs, 15 images)
Today I cycled to the Sooke Potholes mostly along the Galloping Goose trail. Substantial portions of the trail were closed because Centra is installing a natural gas pipeline along the trail, which was unfortunate since I had to make some less pleasant detours. The parts of the trail where they have finished are quite rough compared to how they were before. I wish Centra would at least restore the trail back to its prior condition. I wonder why they have to dig up the whole trail just to lay a five-inch diameter piece of PVC pipe. It seems like a lot of unnecessary work. Couldn't they just lay it alongside the trail?
2020-05-06 - Paragliders / Focus on Women (2 paragraphs, 4 images)
These two guys were paragliding just above the cliffs at Beacon Hill Park on a windy evening.
2020-05-05 - Victoria and the Goose (2 paragraphs, 5 images)
I took most of these pictures of Victoria and the Galloping Goose between downtown and Wal-Mart on my way home after picking up a new camera.
2020-04-30 - Pacific Rim (4 paragraphs, 14 images)
Jenny (friend of Natalie), Aline (researcher of forests from France), and I went to Tofino for the last three days. It was a great trip, and we had great luck with weather which is often very wet on the west coast. We were going to stay at the hostel in Tofino both nights, but we camped out the first night because it was full. The hostel was clean and well run, but too sterile for my tastes.
2020-04-26 - Walk for Global Justice (1 paragraphs, 9 images)
Some pictures of the Walk for Global Justice today.
2020-04-20 - Big Changes (5 paragraphs)
My last day at Exile was on Tuesday the 15th (exactly three weeks before my 1 year anniversery at Exile). I'm now living in Victoria again (it's good to be back). I've been wanting to make a big change in my life for a long time now, but never had the courage to go for it. My loan is nearly payed off, so no more obligations, and all kinds of events seem to have been leading me to taking the plunge.
2020-03-24 - Parksville along the ocean (5 paragraphs, 6 images)
Some more pics around Parksville.
2020-03-17 - Parksville (1 paragraphs, 5 images)
Some photos taken in Parksville in the past few months.
2020-03-14 - Emmy's Garden (1 paragraphs, 7 images)
Photos of my mother's garden in late winter.
2020-03-11 - Vancouver: Edge of Gastown (4 paragraphs, 5 images)
These photos were taken on Friday when I was in Vancouver to renew my Dutch passport.
2020-02-15 - Babal (5 paragraphs)
I wanted to experiment with using OpenGL from a scripting language (Python), so I decided to re-make my favorite HP48 calculator game. One of the nice things about Python is that it can be compiled to Java, and one of the nice things about OpenGL is that there is a Pure Java (100%!) implementation, so it was easy to turn it into an applet.
2020-02-08 - Horticulture Centre (3 paragraphs, 19 images)
Some more of the photos I took last weekend, mostly in the Japanese garden.
2020-02-03 - Winter Flowers and Plants (3 paragraphs, 18 images)
Time for a change from cityscapes. I took these photos at the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific on Saturday. Most of them were taken in the winter garden.
2020-02-01 - Skytrain/New Westminister Pics (1 paragraphs, 7 images)
These were taken a couple of years ago, when I was also visiting Steve.
2020-01-28 - Burnaby Mountain (1 paragraphs, 10 images)
I was on burnaby mountain looking for a Geocache. This was a fun one.
2020-01-28 - Science World (3 paragraphs, 5 images)
Some more photos I took while visiting Steve in Coquitlam.
2020-01-22 - Renewal (1 paragraphs)
Oops, the site was inaccessible since Friday because I let the domain expire. Next time I'll keep my whois records up-to-date so I get notified...
2020-01-21 - SkyTrain (1 paragraphs, 9 images)
In November I spent the weekend at Steve's and we watched the first season of B5 on DVD. I took some time out to explore the new Millennium Line on the SkyTrain system.
2021-01-11 - On or about the Englishman River (1 paragraphs, 10 images)
Some pictures I took a while back while exploring along the Englishman River near Parksville. Apparently the Parksville area used to be named "Englishman's River" but was renamed to Parksville after Nelson Parks, the postmaster. I like the old name better.
2021-01-11 - Updates (7 paragraphs)
First, a Parksville moment: I was taking the bus to Woodgrove Centre in Nanaimo to do some shopping and catch a movie, and there were two pre-teen girls setting in the seat behind me. They were talking to a woman sitting next to them, who had gotten diverced recently. One of them says: "when I get divorced, I'm going to make sure I get a lot of money." So very Parksville.
2020-11-11 - Pueblas Mancomunados, Subcomandante Mini-Marcos (3 paragraphs)
The National Post just had a story about the Pueblas Mancomunados, one of the places I spent a couple days in Mexico. I'll be writing about that later.
2020-10-20 - Mexico Day 16: Mexico City to Canada (4 paragraphs, 3 images)
After an early morning walk around the zocalo, where there was a huge running event going on, and a liesurely breakfast (provided free by the hostel, always a nice touch) it was time to be on my way to the airport. I had originally planned to take a taxi, but after studying the Metro map, decided to take the Metro instead. For some reason the Zocalo station was closed, so I had to walk to the next nearest one.
2020-10-19 - Mexico Day 15: Mexico City (7 paragraphs, 18 images)
Ed, Natacha, Jeff Wagg (a recently arrived grad student from Canada, who I had met before) and I spent the day in Mexico City. We cought an early bus from CAPU, then took the Metro from the bus station in Mexico to the Zocalo. Since I would be catching a plane the next day, I had all my luggage with me, and the first thing we did was find a hostel near the Zocalo where I could leave my stuff.
2020-10-18 - Mexico Day 14: Benito Juarez to Puebla (5 paragraphs, 7 images)
A couple of times a week, there is a bus from Benito Juarez to Oaxaca that leaves at five in the morning and returns in the late afternoon. Thankfully, 5am in Benito Juarez is 6am in the rest of Mexico, so I got an extra hour of sleep. The bus (photographs in the yesterday's log) is painted and reminds me of the Sierra Club bus in B.C.
2020-10-17 - Mexico Day 13: Benito Juarez (5 paragraphs, 18 images)
I slept in and then made myself some breakfast. The sky was mostly clear, so I walked up to the viewpoint (mirador) I had seen the day before. I got there around 11, and the fog was just starting to roll in. The view was spectacular. Benito Juarez was clearly visible, and most of the time I could see far into the valley. There was a lookout tower, and after climbing that I could get almost a 360 degree panorama over the hills.
2020-10-16 - Mexico Day 12: Oaxaca to Benito Juarez and Cuajimoloyas (8 paragraphs, 21 images)
Cuajimoloyas (it took me a long time to be able to say it without my mouth stumbling all over itself) is one of the villages of the Pueblos Mancomunados, about two hours by bus outside from Oaxaca in the Sierra Norte mountains These villages have for over a century been cooperatively managing their collective lands and sharing the wealth generated amongst all the families. Some of the activities in these villages include forestry, mushroom growing, mining, and bottling their own brand of mineral water. This area has some of the oldest forest in the world, because these was never an ice age here. These forests have one of the highest biodiversity in the world as well. Of course, a fair bit of the forest has been cleared over the years, but these villages have one of the best blends of human activity and nature that I've seen. There is plenty of forest, as well as well kept fields, which appeared to be mostly growing corn or glazing cattle, and pretty villages. It's so encouraging to see that a group of people have largely been able to keep big business out of their area and manage it themselves, and do it in such an enlightened way.
2020-10-15 - Mexico Days 9 to 11: Oaxaca (6 paragraphs, 23 images)
It was time for Ed and I to go our separate ways, since he had to be back to work the next day. We drove to a hostel with my stuff, since the hotel was expensive, and then he was off.
2020-10-12 - Mexico Day 8: San Augustinillo to Oaxaca (5 paragraphs, 10 images)
I got up at dawn, a bit cold. As soon as I walked towards the water, I could feel the warmth in the wind, because the water was warmer than the air. I saw some fishermen in the distance, so I started walking that way. I reached them, kept going a bit further, and then started on my way back. Then I got attacked by three dogs. The very same dogs that had nearly attacked me a few minutes earlier walking the other way, and which I avoided by quickly running into the water. I was so relaxed that I'd forgotten to be wary of them on the way back. This time one of them managed to nip me in the leg and scrape off some of my skin on my foot before I reteated into the water. A fisherman was walking in the opposite direction who had seen the attack, and he lifted up the big stick he was holding and motioned that the dogs were the reason he was carrying it. I'll keep that in mind next time.
2020-10-11 - Mexico Day 7: Juchitan to San Augustinillo (7 paragraphs, 6 images)
Slowly, slowly, I'll get this whole trip written about. Since I forgot to mention it in the previous log, after arriving in Juchitan, Ed and I walked around town a bit and had some dinner. After that, I went to the lively Zocalo to people watch, and to read. I think this town has the prettiest girls I saw in Mexico. I love the Zocalos in the colonial Mexican towns and cities, because they are such a focal point for the social life of the city, and Juchitan's was my favorite. Young and old all congregate in the evening. It's something that American and Canadian cities really lack.
2020-10-10 - Mexico Day 6: San Cristobal to Juchitan (3 paragraphs, 16 images)
Since we hadn't made it to Chamula the day before, we drove there before continuing on our way to Juchitan, just accross the border with Oaxaca. A nice town, and it was interesting to hear everyone speaking in the local Indian language. It would have been nice to have more time to actually get to understand what goes on in these villages... I was feeling very much like a real tourist at this point, just glimpsing the surface of things without knowing anything about what goes on underneath.
2020-10-09 - Mexico Day 5: San Cristobal (2 paragraphs, 7 images)
We wanted to explore some of the area around San Christobal, so we drove toward Chamula, planning to stop at a biosphere reserve along the way. Just after we'd missed the entrance to the biosphere reserve, the clutch cable broke, so Ed skillfully drove clutchless a few hundred metres to a mechanic. The mechanic only had a used clutch cable, so Ed then walked much of the way back to San Christobal to get a new one, and cought a bus back.
2020-10-08 - Mexico Day 4: Palenque to San Cristobal (5 paragraphs, 14 images)
The main town of Palenque seems to be aimed at tourists who want to visit the nearby ruins, so there are lots of hotels, restaurants, etc. We visited the ruins at Palenque first thing in the morning. I love ruins, but I find that this kind of place, which charges an entrance fee, has manicured lawn everywhere, and restores the ruins, just isn't ruined enough for me. Nevertheless, it was impressive and it was nice to walk around in the woods in the tropical heat. Also there were smaller trails where most of the busloads of tourists didn't go that led to buildings that really were going back to the jungle.
2020-10-07 - Mexico Day 3: Puebla to Palenque (1 paragraphs)
We got up early and headed for the highway in Ed's Vocho (VW beetle). We drove the whole day along toll highways and reached Palenque just after nightfall. It ended up costing quite a lot for all the tolls, over 500 pesos I think. The highways were in pretty good condition, but still quite a lot of potholes. I only drove for a few hours along some long stretches of highway (since I hadn't practiced very long at driving standard, and Ed's car insurance only counts if the driver has a Mexican driver's license). It took some getting used to have to watch carefully for potholes while speeding along at 90-100 km/h. It also rained quite a bit and the drainage wasn't very good in parts. One of the toll highways was a very long stretch (I'm guessing 150km or more) with not a single entrance or exit, not a single building, just long straight highway through nothing but forest. We had our first breakdown along the way, I'm not sure in which city but I think it was Villahermosa. We had stopped for gas, then pulled into the parking lot of a 7-eleven type place right nextdoor to get some snacks. When Ed went to start the car, there was no power (just minutes before the car had started fine). The nice thing about Mexico is that there always seems to be a mechanic nearby, so he walked off to find one while I stayed with the car. A few minutes later a rabbit pulled up and there he was with a mechanic. It was just a simple connection that had gotten loose. The mechanic asked for 100 pesos, which was a rip off but we just wanted to get going so we paid. We passed through our first military checkpoint with no problems near Palenque.
2020-10-06 - Mexico Day 2: Climbing La Malinche (5 paragraphs, 6 images)
They say that the best time to climb a volcano is when you haven't yet acclimatized to the altitude at the base of the volcano. Actually, they say the opposite. So Edward, his house-mate Alfredo, and I climed La Malinche. Zero to 4500 metres in 36 hours. It was about a 1.5 hour, really beautiful drive that started on freeways and got to smaller and smaller roads. I did a lousy job as navigator. The roads go right into the centre of town and then give little indication of how you're supposed to navigate through the maze of one-way streets (something we experienced several more times during the next week's road trip).
2020-10-05 - Mexico Day 1: Hanging out in Tonantzintla and Puebla (6 paragraphs, 2 images)
I got up at 5:30 to make sure I wouldn't miss my bus and hung around for about an hour waiting for the ticket booth to open. It had rained the night before, and there were huge puddles in the bus waiting area. There were cleaners trying to empty out the water intro drains, basically using big squeegies. It took them more than half an hour, for just one puddle. Do they have to do this every time it rains? Wouldn't it be easier just to fix the drainage? One of those little contrasts that I always enjoy.
2020-10-04 - Mexico Trip: Getting There (10 paragraphs)
Took me a couple of weeks since I got back from Mexico, but finally I write something. My MexicoPhotos are now online and mostly captioned (though I haven't culled the bad or redundant pictures yet). I'll be gradually writing about each day. Pardon the length, this is as much for my benefit as for yours.
2020-09-21 - Yellow Creek Tunnel (1 paragraphs, 15 images)
Did a very interesting "hike" with AVOC through an old tunnel that was dug under a hill looking for gold some years ago.
2020-09-19 - Wye Lake, San Juan Ridge (1 paragraphs, 15 images)
With Alex, I found the Wye Frogs I'd attempted earlier with Cassie (we were thrwarted by locked gates). Got a flat tire on the way there, and a flat tire on the way back. Wye Lake was really beautiful place, I definitely want to camp there some time. There are even a bunch of canoes and paddles there for anybody to use to explore the lake! We then made the treck along the Kludakh trail and through the bush to San Juan Alpine cache, which is definitely the most difficult cache to get to that I've ever done. Really beautiful trail (when we were on the trail), came accross the alpine cabins I'd heard about. It's nice to see that in places like this people can make stuff available for everybody, and it doesn't get wrecked.
2020-09-19 - Vancouver Island Geocacher's Gathering, Vocoder, Referrers (3 paragraphs, 8 images)
I said I never would, but I did: I released a Windows GUI version of my vocoder. Since I ended up learning MFC at work, it only took a few hours to put together, which is considerably less time than I spend explaining the command-line version. I'm also looking into making it work in real-time on Windows.
2020-08-26 - Upper Walbran Valley, Rainbow Family (6 paragraphs, 28 images)
Last weekend I placed my second geocache, Cache and a Movie, near Silvercity. This weekend I placed my third, Bridge Over Troubled Walbran, in the Upper Walbran Valley. I'm really getting into the whole placing geocaches thing. I don't know why I didn't place any earlier, since many of the places I want to put them are only practical to find in the Summer. Perhaps if I get into snowshoeing or cross-country skiing this Winter I can locate them there anyway, but above the snow.
2020-08-18 - Pender Island (1 paragraphs, 13 images)
I went cycling around Pender Island with Alex.
2020-08-14 - Redesign, Bio (2 paragraphs)
You may have noticed that I've redesigned the site a bit. I'm sorry about the colours. I'm in the mood for day-glo. And thanks to MeFi's design for a good starting point, since it mirrors my taste.
2020-08-06 - Nanaimo Nature and Sooke Hills (1 paragraphs, 30 images)
Last Friday I bought a new digital camera, a Pentax Optio 230, so I've been taking tonnes of photos lately. New sections include the two mentioned above, plus Nanaimo nature photos and Sooke hills photos (driving around the Sooke Hills with Cassie looking for an unlocked gate to get to Wye Lake, unsuccessfully).
2020-08-06 - Mount Arrowsmith (1 paragraphs, 16 images)
On Monday I went to find the Toys in the Attic geocache atop Mount Arrowsmith. It was a rainy day and at the higher altitude visibility was less than ten meters for much of the time, so I didn't try to venture to the top of the mountain (I couldn't even see which direction it was in!). Nevertheless, very nice scenery and lots of wild flowers. Of course, I took photos:
2020-08-06 - B.C. Day Road Trip (1 paragraphs, 47 images)
Had a fairly action-packed B.C. Day long weekend. Did a road trip with Ryan. On Friday night we took the ferry to Tsawassen and stayed with his dad in Aldergrove. Saturday we went whitewater river rafting at REO on the Nahatlatch river, near Hope. This was stupidly fun and whets my appetite for getting into whitewater kayaking. We wanted to find a geocache near Harrison lake on the way to Hope, but ran out of time. After the rafting we drove to Cache Creek and stayed there overnight. It always amazes me how quickly the environment changes from rainforest to desert as you cross the mountains. You just suddenly realize that it's totally different. In the morning we took the forest service roads to The Cache at Cache Creek, which had some of the more beautiful scenery that I have ever seen. The backroads in that area seem to be much more beautiful than those nearer the coast, I guess because there's not much logging. After that we drove to Lilloet, then to Pemberton along an unbelievably scenic road that meanders through a canyon. Anyone driving accross B.C. should take this road at least once instead of the faster southern route, it's just amazing. We had intended to go for three days, but since we were so close to Horseshoe Bay anyway, we decided to head back home that night.
2020-07-24 - Minna's Ridge and Cameron Ridge Photos (1 paragraphs, 15 images)
I just did a fair bit of re-organizing of my photos. MinnasRidgePhotos and CameronRidgePhotos are the pictures I took last weekend. Also, incase you were curious, here's a picture of my van in it's natural environment:
2020-07-21 - Hiking (5 paragraphs, 1 images)
I went on a great hike today to Minna's Ridge (N49 07.646 W124 30.863 WGS-84) with the Alberni Valley Outdoot Club. This has to be one of the most beautiful places I've ever been on the Island, I just had no idea this kind of environment existed here. I thought you had to go to the Olympic Mountains or the Rockys (or the Alps) for this kind of alpine meadow. So many flowers. My digital camera doesn't work anymore so no photos right now, but I had a disposable camera with me so when I get those pictures developed I'll post the good ones. Met some great people as well, I definitely want to do on some more hikes with this group. I usually don't like hiking in big groups because, well, the hikes tend to be really slow going and lame, but this group is great. The pace was slower than my usual, but that's probably a good thing because I tend to tire myself out.
2020-07-14 - Hornby Island (7 paragraphs, 2 images)
I placed my first Geocache today on Hornby Island! As soon as I started Geocaching I knew this was where I would eventually place a cache, so I'm glad nobody beat me to it.
2020-06-24 - MLP (2 paragraphs)
I like this comic. Especially considering the state of my facial hair. Actually Cat And Girl is the best web comic I've come accross in a long time. It seems to echo my state of mind at the moment (just today, I was in a much better state of for the last few weeks).
2020-06-18 - Van, Klitsa Lake (7 paragraphs)
On Friday the 7th I finally caved in and bought some four-wheeled transportation. I picked up a 77 Chevy van. The body looks like shit, but it's in pretty good shape and dirves really well. Of course, the turn signals stopped working the day I got it. I put my $300 Klipsch computer speakers, so I have a pretty kick-ass stereo system. Or I did, until I shorted out the cigarette lighter socket which the power inverter plugs into (easily fixed).
2020-05-27 - Los Angeles and E3 (6 paragraphs, 33 images)
The company took all of its employees on a tour bus to E3 on May 22-25. It was more or less a four-day solid party and was tons of fun. To protect the not-so-innocent, I won't go into too much detail about life on the bus :-) It took 31 hours to get down there (the bus broke down (during which time I collected some wildflowers from along the highway) and we caught Portland during rush hour) and 25 hours back.
2020-05-16 - Parksville, Palo Alto (4 paragraphs)
I have indeed changed jobs and moved to Parksville (see previous entry). My life is... chaotic right now. I've found a nice place to live, but don't move in until June 1. I just got back from a trip to Palo Alto to meet with the other developers, which involved three days of serious brain activity and a tremendous amount of knowledge to assimilate. Next week the whole company is going to E3 by bus, which will be great. However, I'm really looking forward to getting some rhythm back into my life.
2020-05-03 - Monday Magazine, Moving (7 paragraphs)
I forgot to mention it, but I was in last week's Monday Magazine. They had a feature on cycling in Victoria and put out a call for anyone with out of the ordinary bicycles to meet at a certain time at the Monday parking lot. There were about ten other people there. Most impressive was one guy's recumbent tricycle, much nicer than any of the others I've seen and built in Victoria. It was strange riding it, though, because I'm not at all used to the sensation of pushed to the side when I turn (as you are in a car).
2020-04-27 - Upgrades (2 paragraphs)
I upgraded the version of ZWiki that runs this site, as a result the appearance has changed a bit. On the one hand, I like the simplicity of ZWiki's default look, but on the other hand, I'd like to make something a bit less bland and more unique. Maybe one day I'll let my creative site out and do some redesign.
2020-03-19 - VIland (4 paragraphs, 5 images)
I had planned last week to go Geocaching with a couple of friends from work on Saturday on Mt. Finlayson. In the morning it was snowing a bit as I started cycling there. I took an insanely long route to the mountain from my place, along Prospect Lake Rd, Munns Rd, and Finlayson Arm Rd. I never realized it, having never cycled it before, but Munns is extremely windy. I had my GPS on while cycling and at one point my distance to the mountain was 5km. 20 minutes cycling later it was 6.5km! Argh! As my altitude increased, the amount of snow on the ground increased too, until I had to get off the bike for parts of Finlayson Arm because I was wiping out constantly. That, and my rear brakes froze. I could either have them stuck open, or stuck closed, but actually operating them normally was impossible. I guess I missed that part when I was lubricating my bike.
2020-03-11 - Geocaching (4 paragraphs)
I went Geocaching for the first time yesterday. This is a game where people hide a container with trinkets and a logbook somewhere in the woods, and then post the longitude and lattitude on the geocaching.com website. Then, over a long period of time, other people use their GPS receivers search out the cache and write in the logbook, optionally trading one trinket for another.
2020-03-01 - Updates (13 paragraphs)
I haven't been updating much, mainly because my life has been pretty boring of late :). I only want to update with things that have actually happened, not things I will do, and since I haven't done much lately (and haven't seen any particularly noteworthy movies) and I don't write about work, there haven't been any updates.
2021-01-08 - Cycling Valleys, Climbing Mountains (2 paragraphs)
On Sunday, despite the weather forcast, I just had to get out and cycle. I cycled to the ferry took it to Tsawassen, and there cycled to Cloverdale and back. Actually it was kind of sucky. The cycling was fine, but it was really difficult to stay on the small rural roads that I prefer. Most of the way I had no choice but to take route 10 which is quite busy, or be parallel to highway 99. Perhaps one time when I have more time (and the days are longer) I can do what I really wanted to do, which was explore the Canada/U.S. border. There seem to be roads running right along it for long stretches, but I didn't have enough time to get that far. I've heard that for long stretches there's just a ditch. How on earth do they patrol so much border? They do seem to catch people crossing it illegally quite often, so they must be doing a pretty good job.
2021-01-05 - Secret Cheifs, Gosford, Tenenbaum (4 paragraphs)
Last night I watch saw "The Royal Tenenbaums", which was great. This and Monsters Inc may well be my fave films of 2001. I loved the ambiguity of a lot of the humor in Tenenbaums. I laughed like I haven't laughed in a long time, but at the same time could have almost cried. The script and comedic timing are absolutely perfect. What's so great is that this film is both incredibly funny and very touching. In some ways it can be compared to Amelie, but Tenenbaums rang more true than Amelie for me. It's been a while since I've seen Rushmore, but I'll have to chech it out again, and I also want to track down Bottle Rocket.
2020-12-31 - All entries for 2001 (66 paragraphs)
2020-12-28 Pink Headed Duck
2020-12-31 - All entries for 2000 (24 paragraphs)
2020-12-31 movies